


Engine of Another War

by NeurotropicAgentX



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Choking, Fear, Inappropriate Use of the Force, M/M, Masturbation, One-Sided Fantasy, Rare Pair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-14 23:06:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9209414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeurotropicAgentX/pseuds/NeurotropicAgentX
Summary: Meeting Vader on the nightmarish world of Mustafar and knowing the future of his career hinged on getting through to his superiors had been far from pleasant. But it was Vader himself that had really shaken Krennic. He’d been unprepared for the power and menace exuded by Vader’s mere presence. He’d been unprepared for the death threat.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-post from [this](http://rogueonekink.dreamwidth.org/1084.html?thread=2364#cmt2364) prompt on[ rogueonekink](http://rogueonekink.dreamwidth.org). Many thanks to my editor for her invaluable assistance.

Krennic returned to his ship and barked orders to set a course for Scarif. He stood in front of the main console and tried to control his racing heartbeat. His palms sweated and his left hand had developed a faint tremor. Krennic clasped his hands behind his back, parade style, and dug the fingers of his left hand into his right until the involuntary action stopped. 

Meeting Vader on the nightmarish world of Mustafar and knowing the future of his career hinged on getting through to his superiors had been far from pleasant. But it was Vader himself that had really shaken Krennic. He’d been unprepared for the power and menace exuded by Vader’s mere presence. He’d been unprepared for the death threat. 

The ship’s navigator interrupted Krennic’s thoughts.

‘We’re on course, sir. We should make the trip back with only one drop into realspace at the Outer Rim Territory checkpoint.’

Krennic nodded. ‘Thank you, Lieutenant.’

At least nothing else required his attention during the trip to Scarif and he could afford to pay off some of his sleep-debt. Krennic had been awake during his last two sleep-shifts. At the time it had been crucial to remain in control of the situation, but now he could best serve the Empire by looking after his body. He turned toward one of his officers. ‘Captain, you have the bridge.’

He barely waited for the acknowledgment before turning to make his way to his quarters. Sleep would help settle his nerves and prepare him for the laborious task of sifting through the archives and poring over all the data on the Death Star. If there were any more leaks or little issues, Krennic would find them.

Back in his quarters, Krennic stripped out of his uniform. He was tempted to just go to bed as he was, but if he was called to field a sudden emergency, he’d want to be wearing at least _something_. With some reluctance, he pulled on his sleepwear and collapsed gratefully onto his bed.

Time passed. Krennic knew he was tired. There was a great wave of fatigue poised to swamp him if only the adrenaline would leave his system. Despite this, his heart raced and his breaths were shallower than they should be. The darkness in his quarters felt oppressive and his eyes were straining to pick out any hint of light. A part of him could still feel the awful radiant heat of Mustafar’s atmosphere.

It had been a long time since Krennic had been afraid of the dark and the unseen threats it contained. He was vaguely disgusted by the way he was feeling now, even beyond the fact that it was keeping him awake. With a sigh, Krennic flung himself onto his side and resolutely shut his eyes, trying to block out the darkness. Emptying his thoughts was usually the best way for him to fall asleep, but it was difficult when his mind insisted on replaying the meeting with Vader. 

Krennic found himself obsessing over the details and trying to think of just the right thing he could have said, just the moment when he could have convinced Vader to let him speak to the Emperor, if he’d only had the _right words_. It was futile, of course, but he couldn’t turn it off. He hated the fact of his failure, and he loathed Vader’s indifference to important Imperial matters.

Krennic flung the sheets aside and turned over onto his back. There was no way he was going to sleep without relieving some tension. The obvious answer was to masturbate and tip the balance of adrenalin in his system over to endorphins. Then it would be easier to let go of the stress of the last few days and actually get some kriffing sleep. 

Krennic pulled his sleepwear down his thighs before kicking them off completely. He wasn’t looking to draw this out and didn’t bother with the sort of teasing he might have otherwise indulged in. Instead, he licked a stripe along his palm and started stroking his cock to hardness. His mind conjured up the usual images and fantasies; encounters with old lovers and imagined flings with colleagues. 

Without conscious choice, his meeting with Vader intruded on his thoughts again. Krennic’s pulse immediately jumped as his memory replayed the image of Vader looming over him. He could almost hear the sound of that measured, synthetic breath rasping beside him. 

Krennic’s breath was coming in harsh gasps and he was achingly hard in his own hand. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to stop thinking about Vader. There were perfectly serviceable alternatives and Krennic filled his thoughts with the warm skin and clever hands of past lovers. He wasn’t going to think of the harsh angles of Vader’s armour, how those dark gauntlets might feel against his bare skin. Vader’s raw, sinister power was irrelevant, no matter how much devastating weapons had always fascinated Krennic.

There was something of Vader, beyond his physical presence, that had reached out and surrounded Krennic during their meeting. He’d heard the stories told by superstitious soldiers, the fanciful imaginings of Vader’s power. That he could see the future, that he could melt through a metal with a single glance, that he could steal your breath with a gesture and that he couldn’t be killed. Krennic hadn’t believed the rumours, until he’d faced Vader and felt himself being taken apart and scrutinised by a foreign intelligence. And found wanting.

It wasn’t working. He was too tired to summon the mental discipline needed to control his fantasies and besides, it was more important to come quickly and get some sleep. It didn’t _matter_ what he thought about here. No one would ever know. Krennic stopped fighting himself and sank into the dark fantasy. 

The images came to him in fits and starts, like an unreliable holofeed connection. The sound materialised in his imagination before anything else. He heard the rasp of Vader’s breathing, the sound of his heavily modulated voice as it curled around the syllables of Krennic’s title. Next came the sweep of Vader’s dark cape and the glint of lava reflecting dully off his helm. There was so much unfathomable power in Vader’s bearing and Krennic could feel himself responding to it. 

The only problem lay in Vader’s indifference. Krennic couldn’t accept the idea, even in a fantasy. Instead he re-wrote the scene in his mind, giving Vader a measure of the fascination that Krennic himself felt. 

‘I’ve watched your rise in the Empire’s hierarchy, Director, and can’t help but wonder how far you’ll end up,’ said Vader.

‘All I need is the opportunity to prove myself. This project is going to ensure the stability of the Empire,’ Krennic replied.

‘I believe the Emperor would be interested in hearing this directly.’

In his bed, Krennic’s hand moved faster. Precome mingled with the spit still coating his hand, helping his touch glide slickly over his cock. The fantasy was nice, but it lacked the visceral tug he’d experienced when he’d first started thinking of Vader. This wasn’t exactly what he wanted. Krennic gritted his teeth and gave up on holding back any final shreds of control. This was about efficient satisfaction of a bodily urge and nothing more.

The scene shifted subtly in Krennic’s mind. Vader felt even taller now, more imposing and the heat of Mustafar settled over everything like a smothering pall. Krennic’s breath came harsher as Vader closed the distance between them. It was too close, stifling, and the sight of Vader’s impassive helm filled Krennic’s vision, the sound of him drowning out anything else. The fear was back and Krennic could feel sweat beading on his brow.

‘It is amusing that you’re attempting to negotiate with me, like some sort of equal.’

‘Lord Vader—’ Krennic started to say, but he was cut off.

‘No, Director, you will listen to me. I summoned you here and your only thoughts should be how best to serve the Empire… and my interests.’

Krennic nodded. He knew how quickly this could turn, how firmly Vader held his life in the palm of one hand. ‘Yes, Lord Vader.’

‘Good. You understand, but I think a lesson in humility may still be in order.’

In his bed, Krennic hissed between his teeth and his hips jolted up against his hand. Pleasure sparked along his nerves, stronger even than his misgivings about considering Vader in this fashion. Krennic panted for breath as he was seized by a wild impulse. He brought his off hand up to his throat and squeezed.

In his fantasy, Vader was using his strange power and an intangible band closed around Krennic’s throat and cut off his air. Krennic tried to gasp, panic rising in him as he tried to draw a breath against the invisible force. As in the real meeting, he fell before Vader, his hands and knees stinging with the impact of his landing. However, this time Vader was still close and Krennic could see those dark boots in his peripheral vision. He looked up at Vader and tried to plead for mercy, but he couldn’t make a sound.

‘Something you want, Director?’ Vader asked dispassionately. 

Krennic seized the edge of Vader’s dark cape with one hand, still scrabbling at his own neck with the other. He begged soundlessly, his lips forming the words as he desperately tried to speak. Vader’s ethereal grip loosened enough for Krennic to draw a single breath before tightening again. Vader was playing with him.

Back in his room, Krennic was biting his lip in an effort to hold back the moans that were threatening to escape him. His hips rocked up as he fucked his own hand. Pleasure was eroding away the coherence of his fantasy and but he clung tenaciously to the details.

‘You’re going to have to be clearer,’ said Vader. His helm was tilted downwards and Krennic once again had that crawling feeling that said he was being dissected by something vast and incomprehensible. The grip on his throat vanished again.

‘Please, Lord Vader,’ Krennic gasped. He’d lost his hold on Vader’s cape and it was all he could do not to collapse.

The pressure on his throat returned, and this time it was accompanied by a similar pressure around his cock. Vader’s power managed to reach him unerringly, even through the layers of his uniform. Krennic could only drown in the sensation, gaping as he tried to moan past the grip around his neck. 

Vader crouched down, grabbed a handful of Krennic’s hair and used it to twist his face up. ‘Do you finally understand your place, Director?’ Vader asked. Krennic nodded, headless of the pain that prickled across his scalp beneath Vader’s hand. ‘Good,’ said Vader and even through the voice modulation, Krennic could hear the cold approval. 

The band around his throat disappeared again, but the pressure around his cock tightened, until the sensation was right on the edge of pain. In bed, Krennic’s hand acted out the sensation as he imagined it. Pleasure knifed through him as he squeezed his cock and his body arched as he spilled over his hand. He imagined the phantom sound of Vader’s presence while the last sparks of pleasure left his nerves tingling. 

Krennic lay still and panted as he recovered from the strength of his orgasm. Then he wiped his hand on one corner of his sheets. His heart rate was slowing and his fatigue washed over him, dragging him down toward sleep. It didn’t matter what he’d thought about while getting off. Nobody would ever need to know. Krennic’s eyes slid shut.

A moment later they shot open again. On top of the other rumours, it was said that Vader could read minds and that even thinking his name could draw his attention even over the gulf of space. Krennic forced himself to calm down. There was no reason to think that Vader could do all that and no reason for him to pay attention to the stray thoughts of one individual. They were light-years away from Mustafar and Vader’s unnatural influence couldn’t possibly extend that far. 

Even with this concern, Krennic soon succumbed to sleep. His fitful dreams were filled with fire and darkness, and when he awoke he was left with a strange sense of dread.


End file.
